Spiffy:

Iffy:

Nothing is known about the story; no multiplayer; too much for some of the more conservative gamers to handle?

At EA's recent large press event held at the Redwood Shores headquarters, I was lucky enough to be invited behind closed doors to check out Criterion's upcoming first-person shooter, Black. Last seen at E3 -- and high up on a lot of people's personal favorites of the show -- I was able to sit down and get some decent hands-on for the first time since the game's initial unveiling.

Criterion is hoping to redefine the way gamers think about first-person shooters. There's no need for character and story development -- and indeed, at this point little to nothing is even known about these areas -- because Black is all about ripping crap up with massive, overbearing ballistic-firing weapons. It's that simple. The poorly-devised phrase of "gun porn" -- which was bandied around at E3 -- isn't too far from the truth. This is gun fans wildest dream come true.

Aside from the fact that you assume the role of an urban commando with possibly the biggest set of testicles ever created, the idea of the game is a simple one. You need to take your ass through over 25 levels of hardcore environments, gunning down every single lowlife enemy that gets in your way. The demo I partook in was one of the aforementioned levels and I came away shell-shocked, deafened, and wanting more.

Priding myself on the fact that both Will and myself managed to run through the level in around nine minutes, it's safe to say that Criterion's ambitious project is well and truly on track to wind up being something really special indeed when it hits shelves next February. I kicked off the demo brandishing nothing more than my trusty pistol and immediately noticed that there were at least three balaclava-clad terrorist chaps opening fire on me through a large pane of glass.

Crouching, I grabbed a large shotgun from the floor nearby and happily returned fire, taking down all three suckers in two shots. More firefights broke out on the streets outside, so I had no option but to blast open the door of the office I was in and make my way outside onto the streets.

It was pretty much a total war zone out there. Burned out cars, telephone booths, dilapidated buildings and all manner of anarchy awaited. I edged out a little further into the street and quickly realized that was a bad idea. Approximately seven different enemies started firing semi-automatic weaponry at me from multiple directions. The red damage reticule indicated the general direction of the incoming bullets, but there was so much noise, so many explosions and ricochets that I panicked and pulled back out of the way. I was about 30 seconds into the demo and already I was completely bewildered and totally hooked.